No threat in vehicle spotted in NYC’s Union Square

A bomb squad officer investigates the scene of a suspicious vehicle near Union Square. Parts of 14th Street were closed after cans of gasoline were reported to be in the back of the car. (May 13, 2010) Photo Credit: Getty Images

New York City police evacuated part of an apartment building and blocked off some streets near Manhattan's Union Square after a Thursday night report of a suspicious vehicle with gas in the back seat, but nothing threatening was found.

NYPD investigators located the owner of the 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, which was parked in front of the Con Edison utility building around 10 p.m. He told police he had the gas cans in his car because he mows lawns for his family. He parked the car in the area because he was attending a concert nearby, police said.

The bomb squad suited up and began an investigation after a Con Edison employee called police to report the vehicle as suspicious because of the two gas cans in the back seat on the floor, said Chief Police spokesman Paul Browne.

The city has been jittery since May 1, when a sport utility vehicle loaded with gasoline and propane began smoking in Times Square but did not explode. Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-born American citizen, was arrested and charged federally in the case. Since that attempt, there have been several reports of suspicious vehicles and packages around the city that have turned out to be false alarms.

Browne said several floors of a high-rise residential building were evacuated and some streets in the area were blocked off as a precaution. They were in the process of reopening.